Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
Through all the information spouted by the Hand Demon, Kaigaku was certain that the fox mask was carved by Urokodaki.
He knew the relationship between his master and the former Water Hashira, but he also knew that this information must not be said to the demon before him.
'Damn it!'
Kaigaku recalled all the scolding he had been given by his master, as well as the care he had shown to Zenitsu back at the Butterfly Mansion.
A flame of jealousy and anger intertwined and blackened from the bottom of his heart.
'To give your disciple this mask...'
'Are you trying to kill me!?'
His eyes became fierce with rage as his right hand clenched his nichirin blade tightly. So tight was his grip that his knuckles turned white.
'I... respect you!'
Kaigaku remembered that old man Jigoro always smiles when training Zenitsu, but not with him.
'Don't you want me... to inherit your will! The mantle of the Thunder Hashira!'
"Tch!" Kaigaku spat out a mouthful of saliva, anger clouding his mind and heart. "Old fool." He muttered through gritted teeth.
Kaigaku suddenly stood up as he looked at the Hand Demon behind him.
"That long-nosed Tengu freak!"
"He could die for all I care!"
He screamed out hoarsely. He took a deep breath and adjusted his breathing rhythm.
The Hand Demon action stopped midway. He was about to stretch his hands out again when he heard Kaigaku scream.
It was stunned for a moment before a look of interest appeared on its face.
"That's funny, kid." He laughed.
The Hand Demon bent down to Kaigaku's level. His yellow eyes shone in the dark forest with malice. "Say it again."
"...what?" Kaigaku frowned. The blood loss was finally hitting his adrenaline-fueled body, and he swayed in place.
"Long-nosed Tengu freak!"
The Hand Demon exclaimed with amusement and sick joy, as if trying to suppress its laughter but unable to.
Kaigaku slowed down as a glimmer of hope lit up in his eyes.
"Urokodaki? More like Unkodaki!" (tr. Rapids Dung)
"Hahahaha!!"
Seeing the Hand Demon's delighted expression, Kaigaku tentatively looked around, and behind him, there was a wisteria bush within his running distance.
"Unkodaki!"
"That damned Unkodaki!"
"Not bad, not bad~"
Kaigaku prepared another insult to buy some time and amuse this demon.
However,
The ground shook violently as the Hand Demon moved closer to him.
"You're the first fox kids I've ever seen who can slander his master like that."
"You're different, alright. Maybe... you're his favorite?"
"It's been years since I last saw that fox mask..."
The Hand Demon's expression became even more joyful. Several arms on his body gathered together, and a small amount covered his mouth.
"If I kill you... how sad do you think your master will be?"
The Hand Demon laughed unrestrained from his belly. A laughter that crept into your soul and made you feel filthy.
Whatever nonsense Kaigaku had spouted.
Killing another fox masked children and taking the mask.
Not knowing Urokodaki.
The Hand Demon didn't believe any of it!
Still... listening to that bastard's disciple cursing the Tengu-masked man, it was in pretty good mood at the moment.
Whoosh!
Several arms burst out and extended through the air and rushed at Kaigaku's face.
"Damn it!"
Without time to think, Kaigaku took a mouthful of oxygen and swung his sword.
)—Thunder Breathing Second Form!—(
)—Inadama!—(
(tr. Rice Spirit)
"Hiss—!"
Kaigaku unleashed five slashes as black lightning cut through the air.
Bang! x5
His nichirin blade repelled away the arms trying to grab him, but the hands were so sturdy and powerful that Kaigaku felt a recoil on his blade bouncing away.
The huge rebound force caused the blade to produce a creaking sound that was very concerning to Kaigaku.
However,
He doesn't have time to worry about it as he continues to unleash slash after slash to fend off the Hand Demon attacks.
The next moment,
Crack!
The sound of metal breaking rang out, and Kaigaku looked at his nichirin blade in disbelief.
The weight of his blade suddenly felt much lighter as broken pieces of metal flew through the air.
Moonlight reflected off of the fragments.
'Am I... going to die...?'
Kaigaku stared blankly at his half-blade in his hand and the remaining half flying in the air.
'So close...'
In the corner of his eyes, he could see that they were only a few steps away from the wisteria bushes.
Before Kaigaku could react, a huge fist descended upon his chest!
Bam!
"Gugh!"
The attack landed heavily as Kaigaku spat out a mouthful of blood. The huge fist instantly made a dent in his front body.
Whoosh!
Kaigaku flew backward like a kite with a broken string. His body staggered and skipped twice on the ground before stopping.
His eyes rolled back as his head lolled to the side, and he passed out.
Luckily, his body was covered by the wisteria bushes, and some wisteria flowers that he picked before journeying to the mountain fell out of his clothes.
The Hand Demon frowned as it retracted its fist.
Smoke was rising from its knuckles, and it could see that its arms were slowly turning into ash.
His face darkened. He originally intended to punch through the kid and devour him.
"Did this year allow participants to bring wisteria poison with them?"
The Hand Demon looks at where Kaigaku supposedly landed but gives up on chasing him. Mostly because Kaigaku was protected by the wisteria flowers.
---
A long time passed.
Kaigaku opened his eyes with difficulty.
He looked at the purple flowers in front of him in a daze.
Slowly and barely, Kaigaku supported himself to sit up and looked around his surroundings.
Such an action already consumed so much stamina from him that Kaigaku was panting heavily as blood kept flowing from the corner of his mouth. His eyes blurred, and his brain was still rebooting.
Almost subconsciously, driven by his will to survive, he turned around and staggered down the mountain.
"I... will... survive..." He murmured.
"Kill... old man..."
"Win..."
The night is still long for Kaigaku.
---
Five hours passed from Kaigaku's awakening.
At the unnamed town at the foot of the mountain Fujikasane.
A red-headed figure landed on the roof of an unremarkable house and peered down through it inside.
"Tch!"
Akaza's face was full of indignation as the moonlight shone on our mysterious force, illuminating his blue skin.
Akaza punched the roof under him and vented his dissatisfaction.
He had not been at his post for these past few days, nor is he searching for the blue spider lily.
After Gyokko died, the intelligence network of the demons was scattered and a mess.
He searched for several days and found nothing.
He couldn't even find the guy that killed Kokushibou!
"Damn that fish!" Akaza cursed out his dead colleague and jumped off the roof in anger.
He landed on the street and looked at the town activity.
This was not his post. Just a town he was passing through on his way to his area.
Drip, drip
Before Akaza could vanish again,
A figure in black wandered close to him. His whole body was soaked in blood as he supported himself with a broken blade to search for help.
Unfortunately, he was walking toward Akaza's location from the other side of the street.